Layered Helmet

ABSTRACT

A helmet for reducing impact-related head trauma and pathology, including acute concussive and chronic sub-concussive injury, the helmet having a plurality of tensile and compressive layers configured to disperse, spread and absorb the kinetic energy of an impact force through a network of interlayer and intralayer structural motifs. The plurality of layers include a “shell layer”, preferably as a unibody construct, having a resilient framework of anastomosing reticulations defined by slots or cutouts so as to be capable of flexing cooperatively during an impact and recovering. The shell layer serves as a support for an exterior layer, generally an ordered layer of “scales” attached to the outside surface, each scale being mounted so as to resiliently yield, resist stretch, and cooperatively flex with shell members. A third layer, attached inside the shell layer, may include padding having multiple compressive and resilient elements configured to absorb and redirect kinetic energy laterally from a point of impact at one or more fractal scales. Collectively, the layers form the “body” of the helmet.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

Not Applicable.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure pertains to an athletic helmet generally having a layer of scales mounted externally on a shell and a layer of padding elements mounted internally; the shell having integral cutouts and branches that flex collectively with the scales and padding elements so as to reduce kinetic energy transferred to the skull and brain when an impact on the helmet occurs.

BACKGROUND

The pathology of sequelae to sport-related head injuries have been found to be much more common than initially thought. Head trauma to motorcyclists, resulting in long term disability, was believed to be an extreme case, causing many States to mandate that motorcyclists wear helmets. Also well known were cases of impairment in professional boxers due to repeated head drama. Most recently, under increasing scrutiny following a series of autopsies of professional football players conducted by a neuropathologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu, a syndrome termed “chronic traumatic encephalopathy” was identified. Although this finding was published in 2002, football helmets, and helmets more generally for sports in which head impacts are experienced as part of play, have not yet undergone any substantial reengineering. Screening to prevent chronic traumatic encephalopathy has been increased (such as by X2 Biosystems, Seattle, Wash.) but protective headgear that would guard against cumulative head trauma experienced during normal play has not been generally adopted. For some fans and broadcasters, the concussive and sub-clinical concussive injuries experienced by players, along with the occasional extraordinary play injuries and jarring tackles are all part of the game. Nonetheless, if the cumulative and traumatic brain injury that appears over a career of head butting can be prevented or reduced, then a significant improvement in the game's reputation and enjoyment will result. The same can be said for other sports to one degree or another, hockey. Lacrosse and soccer for example.

Helmets have been improved before. Famously, when Otto Graham of the Cleveland Browns took an elbow in the face, he and his coach, Paul Brown, prototyped and developed a face mask or guard such as used in professional football today. The money from the invention was enough to finance creation of the Cincinnati Bengals. And in 1969, single piece injection molded helmet shells were introduced in place of the leather helmets worn by players since 1939. In 1982, a water-filled helmet was attempted, and in 2003, the first head impact telemetry system was introduced.

But what is needed is a serious look at the helmet concept from the ground up, to address it in new and inventive ways, to understand the principles by which head injury can be engineered out of sports—and to build on that understanding.

SUMMARY

Disclosed is an apparatus having general application for reducing head trauma, particularly that associated with contact sports. The apparatus is made with a plurality of layers of resilient material; generally at least three: a) a shell layer; b) a layer of scales that are fastened to an outside surface of the shell layer; and c) a layer of padding mounted on the inside of the shell: all of which work cooperatively through multiple interactions at multiple dimensions to absorb and disperse kinetic impacts, and reduce the residual shock wave transmitted to the brain through the skull.

An improved athletic helmet design will increase protection to a person's head by spreading and absorbing the kinetic energy, the “jolt”, of the blow to the head during an impact. When an inventive helmet is impacted by an object or surface, kinetic energy is transferred to a first layer having scaled elements that are deformed or displaced in response to the applied force of the impact before conveying the force to a shell layer. The shell layer of the helmet receives residual kinetic energy from the scale layer but will also spread and absorb that kinetic energy in the compound structure. Typically the shell is a ribbon latticework structure of resilient ribs, where each of the rib members is free to flex independently of other rib members but flexes cooperatively because of the intimate interaction of the rib members and the scales attached to them. The resilient lattice framework holds the general shape of a conventional rigid “shell” of a helmet. A padding layer is provided inside the shell, and includes padding elements of fractal dimensions that further lateralize and absorb any remaining kinetic energy of an applied impact. Exemplary helmets have a plurality of layers composed of different materials and elements having different fractal dimensions. Helmets may have three, four, five or more layers, in which each layer contributes cooperatively to reduce any vectored force directed at the brain.

The inventive helmet is provided with a plurality of layers configured to lateralize, spread and absorb the kinetic energy of an applied force of an impact. The plurality of layers include a “shell” having a resilient framework or latticework of reticulations and interconnections defined by slots and holes, the latticework capable of resiliently flexing and recovering during impact. The shell is preferably provided as a unibody construct and is configured to surround the braincase except over the face or eyes. The shell serves as a support for an exterior layer: an ordered layer or array of scales attached externally to the shell, each scale being configured to resiliently yield or flex cooperatively with the shell during impact. A third layer, attached inside the shell, includes padding elements generally of multiple categories, the padding layer having multiple resilient elements of multiple sizes and stiffnesses configured to absorb and redirect kinetic energy laterally from a point of impact. Collectively, the layers make up the body of the helmet and are all capable of elastic deformation to absorb impacts. Additional layers may include a slick exterior layer, an elastic matrix layer, and an inside breathable layer of padding subassemblies, for example.

In one example, the padding layer may include collapsible compartments and pliant “finger bristles” that are irreversibly deformable if a yield strength is exceeded, but absorb lesser impacts elastically. In a preferred embodiment, individual compartments are in fluid communication through cross-channels sized so as to exchange a fluid in response to a localized pressure, thus converting a vectored impact pressure directed against the helmet into a lateral pneumatic or hydraulic pressure wave that disperses the impact force laterally around and across the helmet body rather than into the head.

Progressively, the effects of concussive and sub-concussive brain trauma have been acknowledged in many sports. Accordingly, there exists a need for equipment and a method of reducing sports related traumatic head injuries even further. Current rigid helmet designs do not adequately protect the brain from transmission of kinetic energy.

The elements, features, steps, and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which presently preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example.

It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. The various elements, features, steps, and combinations thereof that characterize aspects of the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming part of this disclosure. The invention does not necessarily reside in any one of these aspects taken alone, but rather in the invention taken as a whole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The teachings of the present invention are more readily understood by considering the drawings in light of the specification and claims.

FIG. 1 is a view of a football helmet of the prior art with an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) co-polymer exterior shell, a plastic known for its rigidity, strength and impact resistance.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are transverse and coronal sections of a skull. In the first view, an open braincase with sphenoid wings and major cerebral vascular features is shown. In the second view, layers of the skull and brain are exposed to illustrate the anatomy of a subdural and an epidural hemorrhage.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are sectional views representing the relationship of an exemplary layered helmet of the invention with the layers of the skull and braincase. Shown here is a cutaway view of a helmet with scale layer, shell layer, and cellular padding materials sandwiched between a top and bottom coversheet.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a helmet “shell” of a first embodiment of the invention. Also shown is a faceguard. FIGS. 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F and 4G are side, front, underside, back and perspective views of a resilient shell layer configured to absorb impacts by a slotted shell construction.

FIG. 5A shows a plan view of a helmet shell with mid-sagittal section plane. FIGS. 5B, 5C, and 5D are views showing internal construction of the shell layer prior to addition of other layers.

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C are detail views of reinforcing “buttress” members that form a skeletal framework for the resilient shell. Not shown in this view are the interconnecting parallel “ribs” seen in earlier views.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are underside plan views of a shell with and without an underlying padding layer.

FIG. 8 is a schematic of an exemplary helmet of the invention having a plurality of layers, including scale layer, elastomeric layer, shell layer, and padding layer with coversheet surrounding the head space.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are exemplary exterior “scales” of the invention. Two scale types are shown as isolated structural components.

FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C are drawings of an exemplary “scale-on-shell” construction.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are are frontal views of a model football helmet showing an exterior of layered scale elements. Shown are overlapping and flush-fitted scale types.

FIG. 12 is a side view of a helmet illustrating an exemplary “scale-on-shell” construction in which scales are applied to the ribs in an array that conforms to the shape of the shell so as to form a smooth exterior surface.

FIG. 13 is an underside view of a helmet with a partially-transparent padding layer applied to the inside shell illustrated in FIG. 7A.

FIG. 14A is a detail view of representative dome-like padding elements on a sheet. Care is taken to show elements of two different vertical dimensions. FIGS. 14B and 14C represent schematically an unstressed padding layer and a padding layer subjected to a vertical/horizontal impact (bold arrows). The scalp of the helmet wearer is shown in direct, closely fitting contact with the padding elements.

FIG. 15A is a detail view of representative cuboidal padding elements. Care is taken to show elements of two different vertical dimensions. FIGS. 15B and 15C represent schematically an unstressed padding layer and a padding layer subjected to a vertical/horizontal impact (bold arrows) in which the padding layer is stressed under load and with horizontal shear. The scalp of the helmet wearer is shown in direct, closely fitting contact with the padding elements.

FIG. 16A is a detail view of representative “finger” padding elements in which the fingers are interdigitated. FIG. 16B shows a finger padding layer subjected to a vertical/horizontal impact (bold arrows) in which the fingers are stressed and compress under load. Resilient recovery is illustrated in FIG. 16C. FIG. 16D illustrates lateral shear with reversible finger deformation.

FIG. 17A is a schematic of a variant of the dome-like padding elements in which elastic elements are interconnected in series through narrow cross-channels so as to resist compression by absorbing work of transfer of a fluid from one cell to another, followed by re-equilibration when the load is removed. FIGS. 17B and 17C illustrate the transfer process schematically (bold arrow).

FIGS. 18A and 18B are views of a variant padding layer construction, showing arrays of multiple elements with multiple vertical dimensions and in this case (FIG. 18B) textured with fine bristles lending a fractal third dimension to the padding.

FIGS. 19A and 19B represent an alternate padding construction formed of bristles or “finger bristles” of resilient material on the inside of said helmet shell. The view is as seen in cross-section. FIG. 19B demonstrates compression of the helmet under impact.

FIG. 20A is a posterior view of an alternate shell latticework having hexagonal reticulation (“branches”) and anastomoses (“interconnections”). The ribbon branches of the latticework connect to thicker frame-like members on either side of the helmet (termed here “buttress members”).

FIG. 20B is a sectional view (taken as shown in FIG. 20A) through the branches and frame members of the latticework. Also shown is a “cap layer” that seats between the buttress members and covers the branching ribs of the shell with an embedded layer of scales as another structural motif.

FIG. 20C is an isolated view of the shell layer with buttress elements and branches. The section is taken to show the open hexagonal web of the branched ribs.

FIG. 20D is a view of the cap layer in isolation from the shell.

FIGS. 21A and 21B are action views showing a “before” and “after” an impact (bold arrow), in which the deformation is exaggerated for clarity. FIG. 21C is a detail view of scale and rib motif cooperative flexion.

FIGS. 22A and 22B show an alternate construction of a helmet in which the buttress elements are exposed on the exterior and separate scale layers formed as front, side and back panels. The branch elements of the shell, not visible in this view, support the scale panels.

The posterior wishbone is positioned to limit impacts to the occipital lobes of the brain, which have been shown to more frequently lead to vascular tears and ischemia.

The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale. Certain features or components herein may be shown in somewhat schematic form and some details of conventional elements may not be shown in the interest of clarity, explanation, and conciseness. The drawing figures are hereby made part of the specification, written description and teachings disclosed herein.

Glossary

Certain terms are used throughout the following description to refer to particular features, steps or components, and are used as terms of description and not of limitation. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, different persons may refer to the same feature, step or component by different names. Components, steps or features that differ in name but not in structure, function or action are considered equivalent, and may be substituted herein without departure from the invention. The following definitions supplement those set forth elsewhere in this specification. Certain meanings are defined here as intended by the inventor, i.e., they are intrinsic meanings. Other words and phrases used herein take their meaning as consistent with usage as would be apparent to one skilled in the relevant arts. In case of conflict, the present specification, including definitions, will control.

“Scale”—refers to plate-like elements, typically about coin-sized or thereabouts, that are mounted externally on a supporting shell, and that flex and yield when subjected to impact. This microstructure redirects and diffuses impact energy that would otherwise be directed against the skull of a person wearing the helmet. “Dragonscale” is a preferred scale type, but the invention is defined by a range of functional equivalents of scale elements differing in size, thickness and shape. The yield may be elastic or inelastic depending on the work function of the scale structure and its mode of attachment to the helmet body. Scales refer more generally to tensile elements having distinct elastic stretch and bending moduli, and act in cooperation with compressive ribs and buttresses of the shell layer to distribute and redirect impact loads away from the point of impact. The tensile and bending moduli of the combined structure are distinct from the moduli of the complete helmet body.

“Shell layer” or “shell”—as used here refers to a plastic member shaped to cover and surround most of the braincase, with an opening for the face and ventilation, including generally a hole over the ears. As described here, the shell is modified by a series of external and internal layers that deform under impact to disperse kinetic energy. The shells of the inventive helmets include interconnected buttress elements and reticulations and anastomoses defined by open slots or cutouts.

For simplicity, so as to describe the variants of structural members effective in the invention, the term “shell layer” shall be used to describe the skeletal latticework or framework, including any ribs, reticulations and interconnects, and buttress members that support the outside scales and inside padding. The shell is a framework in compression under a force of impact. Synergically, individual scales bend cooperatively with the rib members, but are constrained by overlapping with adjoining rib members so as to transfer impact force laterally from one rib to another while also yielding so as to absorb some of the energy in the external layer. The padding layer adds to the synergy achieved.

In a preferred embodiment, the shell layer is a unibody construction, also sometimes termed a “monocoque” fabrication and is typically formed of a resilient material such as nylon, polycarbonate, block copolymers, or polypropylene, with or without reinforcing fibers, while not limited thereto. Thus the shell layer is one component layer of the multiple layers the make up the helmet “body”.

“Member”—a constituent part of a complex structure as a leg, skeleton, branch or limb.

“Element”—a constituent piece of a complex structure, such as a scale, a layer, a sub-layer, or an attachment thereto.

“Supple”—flexible and bending readily without breaking or becoming deformed.

“Resilient”—refers to a material capable of deformation with elastic recovery when subjected to a force that does work on the material.

“Modulus”—in longitudinal testing mode refers to the elastic modulus obtained for a sample will refer to the orientation along the sample's length. In contrast, when a material is flexed by testing in bending mode, there is both tension and compression. For homogeneous and isotropic materials, the elastic modulus measured in an axial test (longitudinal direction) corresponds to the elastic modulus obtained from a bending test. However for anisotropic and heterogeneous materials (such as having intra-and interlayer structural motifs), the two moduli may not correspond as measured—because the stressed surface is under a tensile load and the deeper core or opposite surface is under compressive load in bending tests. In both stretch and bending testing, there is generally a range over which loads are tolerated with full recovery and a load at which a permanent yield or deformation occurs.

“Branch” or “rib”—refers to a framework of members extending between buttress members and conforming to the general shape of a conventional shell or body of a conventional helmet. The branched members of the shell layer are configured with flexural properties and resilience so as to flex and recover independently when subjected to an impact and spreading any force laterally over a larger surface area—while absorbing at least a part of the blow's energy.

“Chronic traumatic encephalopathy”—refers to a neurological pathology characterized by mental slowing and dysfunctions resulting from multiple jolts that result in unrepaired tissue damage, ischemia, gliosis, or scarring in the brain.

General connection terms including, but not limited to “connected,” “attached,” “conjoined,” “secured,” and “affixed” are not meant to be limiting, such that structures so “associated” may have more than one way of being associated. “Fluidly connected” indicates a connection for conveying a fluid therethrough. Fluids may refer to liquids or gases having suitable hydraulic or pneumatic properties.

Relative terms should be construed as such. For example, the term “front” is meant to be relative to the term “back,” the term “upper” is meant to be relative to the term “lower,” the term “vertical” is meant to be relative to the term “horizontal,” the term “top” is meant to be relative to the term “bottom,” and the term “inside” is meant to be relative to the term “outside,” and so forth. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the terms “first,” “second,” “third,” and “fourth” are meant solely for purposes of designation and not for order or for limitation. Reference to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or an “aspect,” means that a particular feature, structure, step, combination or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or aspect is included in at least one realization of the present invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment and may apply to multiple embodiments. Furthermore, particular features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

“Adapted to” includes and encompasses the meanings of “capable of” and additionally, “designed to”, as applies to those uses intended by the patent. In contrast, a claim drafted with the limitation “capable of” also encompasses unintended uses and misuses of a functional element beyond those uses indicated in the disclosure. Aspex Eyewear v Marchon Eyewear 672 F3d 1335, 1349 (Fed Circ 2012). “Configured to”, as used here, is taken to indicate is able to, is designed to, and is intended to function in support of the inventive structures, and is thus more stringent than “enabled to”.

It should be noted that the terms “may,” “can,” and “might” are used to indicate alternatives and optional features and only should be construed as a limitation if specifically included in the claims. The various components, features, steps, or embodiments thereof are all “preferred” whether or not specifically so indicated. Claims not including a specific limitation should not be construed to include that limitation. For example, the term “a” or “an” as used in the claims does not exclude a plurality.

“Conventional” refers to a term or method designating that which is known and commonly understood in the technology to which this invention relates.

Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims that follow, the term “comprise” and variations thereof, such as, “comprises” and “comprising” are to be construed in an open, inclusive sense—as in “including, but not limited to.”

A “method” as disclosed herein refers to one or more steps or actions for achieving the described end. Unless a specific order of steps or actions is required for proper operation of the embodiment, the order and/or use of specific steps and/or actions may be modified without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The appended claims are not to be interpreted as including means-plus-function limitations, unless a given claim explicitly evokes the means-plus-function clause of 35 USC §112 para (f) by using the phrase “means for” followed by a verb in gerund form.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The shell layer of the inventive helmet fits onto the head of a person and is resilient and bendable—not rigid—so as to absorb and redirect forces of impact; thus reducing concussive effects on the brain. Resilience is achieved by selection of elastomeric materials, but also by selective weakening and thinning of the shell and by use of multiple layers outside and inside the shell layer. The inventive athletic helmets generally include a plurality of layers, each configured to act cooperatively with elements of other layers so as to absorb and redirect impact forces away from the point of impact. While not limited thereto, the plurality of layers typically includes a shell layer, a scale layer mounted externally on the shell layer, and a padding layer mounted internally on the shell layer.

A conventional football helmet is depicted in FIG. 1. Shown is a view of a football helmet 10 of the prior art. The helmet includes a solid, rigid “shell” 1 with face guard 2 and padded interior 3. The rear aspect of the helmet is indicated to be impacting (*) a hard surface 5 such as the ground (bold arrow). The material for construction of the exterior shell is typically acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) co-polymer; a plastic known for its rigidity, strength and impact resistance. Polycarbonate blends may also be used. The shell may include vents to prevent overheating and may include a padding system fitting an individual's skull shape. Thermoplastic urethane foams, polyethylene, silicone, rubber, and “memory foams” are sometimes used on the belief that the resilient foam is an improvement over exploded polystyrene (EPS) crushable foams. Resilient vinyl nitrile foam padding is also used. The padding is positioned between the rigid shell and the skull. Proprietary foams include “Enkayse” (HEADKAYSE, London UK), XRD(R) and PORON(R) (Rogers Corp., Cranford N.J.). No padding or impact absorbing feature is used on the outside of the shell. Thus these helmets have have two well-defined layers.

Helmets for organized sports typically meet or comply with established standards of the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, or NOCSAE. While these helmets are designed to be rigid and to meet recognized standards for head protection when worn properly, impact to the head often results in trauma precisely because of the rigid construction of the helmets. Padding has not proven effective because the shell behaves in impact as a rigid body that concentrates the force on a single point directly on the braincase. Experience in professional sports has increasingly demonstrated widespread brain injury, once thought limited only to boxing.

Head injury can be much more effectively treated if immediately detected and the design and engineering of the helmets of the invention is undertaken in the recognition that the longer term sequelae of head injury can be reduced by reduction of kinetic energy transfer to the skull, accurate and real time detection and quantitation of impact (with intervention as required), or a combination of both. The consistent reduction of impact force directed through the skull reduces the incidence and severity of traumatic head injury and chronic traumatic encephalopathy as compared to a conventional helmet.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are transverse and coronal sections of a skull. In a first view, the delicacy of the brain's internal vasculature is illustrated, in which an open skullcase with sphenoid wings and cerebral vascular features is shown. It can be seen that the protrusions of the sphenoid processes impinge on critical vessels when the brain is knocked back and forth in the braincase. Injury can occur directly at the site of an impact or on the opposite side of the brain; brain compression and expansion results in vascular and tissue damage. Also differentiated are diffuse axonal injury and coup/contrecoup ischemic injury.

In the second view, FIG. 2B, layers of the skullcase and brain are shown to illustrate a subdural and epidural hemorrhage in which a break in a blood vessel as a result of an impact results in extravasated blood, i.e., a hematoma. Hematomas may be subdural, epidural, or cerebral. Subdural hematoma is a serious and not uncommon result of a blow to the head, where bleeding is located between the dura and the arachnoid mater, as from a jarring concussion to the brain. This condition is known to become chronic with repeated tears of vessels or capillaries and also results in some level of localized ischemia and progressive disability or personality changes.

Epidural hematoma is associated with a tear in the cerebral arteries between the skull and the brain, most often the middle meningeal artery. Chronic damage can result in persistent drowsiness, inattentiveness or incoherence, headaches and personality changes. Tears of the middle meningeal artery are particularly common in acute head injury.

Intracerebral hematoma has a poor prognosis, and is basically a stroke resulting from a blow to the head, leading to cerebral edema and ischemia with loss of function. Skull fractures are less common in professional sports, but may be encountered.

Contusions and localized ischemia can occur when the skull impacts the brain, a “coup” injury, and also when the brain impacts the skull, as in “contrecoup” injuries that occur on the side of the head opposite the original impact as the result of its elastic recoil away from the site of impact. Fluids may be forced into and out of tissues so fast that cavitation results, leading to severe tissue damage. It is also known that lesser but frequent “sub-concussive” impacts result in cumulative pathology that is not fully repaired. Injury occurs at a vascular or tissue level by transmission of the kinetic energy of an impact to the brain. The dura is separated from the skullcase by only a thin arachnoid layer and pia mater, tissue layers that are poor at cushioning impact. Principally, the brain is compressed by an impact and reflates during a recovery period.

Contrecoup vascular and tissue injuries to the frontal lobes occur due to posterior head impact, and may be the most common and extensive injury seen [Goggio A F, 1941. The mechanism of contre-coup injury. J Neuro Neurosurg Psych. 4:11-22; Smith E. 1974. Influence of site of impact on cognitive impairment persisting long after severe closed head injury. 37:719-26]. The importance of the helmet in reducing the anisotropic force of posterior impacts to the head is thus an important factor that remains unrecognized in current helmet design. Traditional design of athletic helmets include a rigid outer layer, as well as some type of padding that is a lining material intended to give comfort and help absorb shock. These conventional designs fail to adequately address the full impact of kinetic energy transmitted to the back of the brain and its cumulative effects.

Thus preventative measures are needed to reduce the impact transferred to the brain. These impacts occur for example when a player is brought to the ground with a head pounding tackle, when players butt heads, and when players are overturned and land on their heads. It is unlikely that the head can be taken out of the game of football, but the force of the impacts can be reduced by structuring the helmet to absorb some of the kinetic energy of the impacts.

The technical term for sudden impact is “jolt”, a change in acceleration of a moving body, and is expressed mathematically as,

{circumflex over (j)}(t)=(δ a (t)/δt   (Eq 1)

where ā is acceleration (m/s²) and t is time. The vector ĵ(t) is given in m/s³ but may also be expressed in units of standard gravity per second (“G's per second”), and the magnitude of each jolt can be added so that successive jolts in a series during a game—without reference to vector direction—are cumulative. A more complete analysis of motion of a sponge-like body, the brain in its viscous fluid domain, is not needed to understand the principles behind the inventive helmets disclosed here, and no limitation is to be construed based on theory.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are sectional views that represent the relationship of a layered helmet of the invention to the layers of the skull and brain. Views are shown of a helmet having a layer of scales 31 as will be described in more detail below on top of a shell layer 32 having reticulations and interconnections so as to form a reinforced latticework that holds its shape but may be flexed in full or in part so as to cooperatively absorb an impact and redistribute most or much of the kinetic energy of the impact laterally within the helmet thickness.

Also shown here is an inside view of a padding layer 33 having cellular padding elements 34 sandwiched between a top and bottom sheet. The internal padding layer 33 here includes padding cells 34 having a generally truncated-conical shape. The cells narrow toward their external apex so as to promote selective collapse at the “outer tips” of the cells during any impact that is not fully absorbed in the outside scale layer.

Optionally, there may be added layers, such as an elastomeric matrix between the scales and the shell. Layers of the skullcase and brain are also shown as labelled. A headspace open volume 35 is identified for receiving the player's head and hair, and may include an air gap between the head and the bottom sheet of the padding layer 33. While not to scale, the helmet thickness is substantially greater than the thickness of the skull and internal fluid space surrounding the brain (as bounded by the dura and the pia mater).

FIG. 3B also depicts a helmet having a plurality of layers. The layers include an outside sheath that may be transparent or colored and may be breathable but waterproof. The layer is generally slick so as to allow helmets to slide over surfaces rather than be impeded by surface roughness. The sheath layer covers the scale layer and also acts as a tensile member to promote cooperative flexure of the scales. The scale layer may be segmented, as when each scale is mounted with an individual silicone rubber washer , or may be a continuous layer formed or applied over the entire shell and having pores or holes for cooling as shown in FIG. 20B. Individual scales (not shown) are affixed or otherwise mounted to the “resilient layer” (such as made of nylon or polycarbonate), termed here the shell. The resilient layer may take the form of an open latticework so as to increase its flexibility and resilience. A schematic demonstration of how the scales flex and yield cooperatively with the shell is depicted in FIGS. 19B, 21B and 21C (described below).

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a helmet “shell” of a first embodiment of the invention. Also shown is a faceguard. FIGS. 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F and 4G are side, front, underside, back and perspective views of a resilient shell configured to absorb impacts by a slotted shell construction in which the slots function generally like expansion joints.

In this model, the unibody shell 40 is modified to create slots that weaken the rigidity of the helmet and define parallel lateral ribs 41. The transverse ribs support a secondary outside layer having a plurality of smaller scale elements that absorb impact force by deforming cooperatively with the ribs of the shell. The invention is not limited to parallel slots and ribs.

Also shown is an “X” shaped structural frame of less supple members that buttress the ribs and hence are called “buttress members” 42. The buttress members are positioned over padded areas (described below), such that the ribs are engineered to direct kinetic energy over as large a padded area as possible. Buttress members are positioned in an inverted wishbone shape over the occipital lobs and in another inverted wishbone shape over the temples where bones of the skull are weaker. The two wishbones are conceived to be joined stemwise at the crest or crown 43 of the helmet in the form of a duplex wishbone having four arms. The lateral ribs or “reticulations” that branch from the buttress members support a secondary outside layer having a plurality of smaller scale elements that absorb impact force by yielding as will be shown below.

More generally, a pattern of holes or slots divides the shell layer into a “scaffold” or framework including buttress members having a generally “X” shape and, a more bendable ribbon latticework formed of rib members originating from and joining adjacent arms of the scaffold. The shell is generally a unibody construct. Another layer is applied over the shell and includes “scale” elements that attach to the ribs and may be seated on or embedded in a supple elastomeric layer, generally in the manner of scales on a fish. The interior of the helmet includes a third layer made of one or more padding elements selected from resilient cells, foam, collapsible cells, pliant fingers, and “memory” finger bristles arranged in an array so as to redirect and distribute impact loads laterally and away from the point of impact. The helmet defines an opening for receiving a wearer's head, the opening having a reinforced lip 44 that is part of the ribbon lattice and scaffold.

The ribbon latticework includes a scaffold of primary buttress members from which secondary rib or branch members reticulate and interconnect. The shell scaffold and ribs are configured to deform cooperatively and resiliently in response to an impact, the cooperative response to an impact being made synergic by the addition of an overlayer of scales that overlap or adjoin so as to transmit an impact laterally over multiple structural members of the shell while absorbing some of the impact.

In a preferred embodiment, the shell layer is a unibody construction, also sometimes termed “monocoque” fabrication and is typically formed of a relatively stiff but resilient material such as a plastic.

Any description of a preferred shell fabrication technology is not a limiting description. Other fabrication methods are known in the art. Preferred materials include those that are injection moldable, but may also include other plastics, optionally with fiber reinforcement, that meet the engineering criteria for resilience. This may be a bending modulus, for example, as known in the art.

Each rib 41 is configured to flex or bend independently. The ribs with separating slots are positioned in the most impacted zones on side and rear of shell surface such that rib flexure is enhanced by the slots acting as expansion joints between the rib members. The scales act to guide the flexing of the ribs and will flex when the ribs flex.

Shapes may be dimensioned so that individual tiled scale elements are fitted round curved surfaces according to the degree of curvature, or to accommodate any holes in the underlying shell, such as an ear hole. In combination, the scale elements and rib members of the shell may have a new bending and tensile modulus that is not predictable from the individual moduli of the materials taken separately, as is determined by the dimensions and relative scale of the heterogeneous structure taken as a whole.

FIG. 5A shows a plan view of a helmet shell 40 with mid-sagittal section plane. FIGS. 5B, 5C, and 5D are views showing internal construction of the shell prior to addition of other layers. Parallel lateral bands represent ribs 41 and vertical bands forming an “X” at the crest 43 (as when viewed from the top) represent buttress members 42. Also reinforced is a lip 44 bordering the opening for receiving the head of a player. A faceguard is consistently shown in the figures but helmets not having faceguards are also embodiments of the invention when formed as a plurality of layers in which the shell layer is defined by a latticework of buttress members and rib members that act cooperatively to flex when impacted.

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C are detail views of reinforcing “buttress” members 42 that form a skeletal framework for the resilient shell. Not shown in this view are the interconnecting parallel ribs seen in earlier views. Also reinforcing is a lip 44 that forms the lower margin of the shell and extends over the eyes of the player. The lip is retracted to allow greater peripheral vision, and may support an open window on each side of the helmet if more side vision is needed. The shell may be configured with or without a faceguard for other sports such as hockey, kendo, baseball, soccer, rugby, equestrian sports, and contact sports in general, and including applications for “special needs” activities. The posterior buttress members are positioned to limit impacts to the occipital lobes of the brain, which have been shown to more frequently lead to vascular tears and ischemia.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are underside plan views of a shell 40 with and without an underlying padding layer. Looking up into the shell from the underside in FIG. 7A, the crest 43, lateral ribs 41, buttress members 42, and lip 44 forming the lower margin are shown.

In FIG. 7B, a padding layer with multiple cushion elements 71, 72, 73, 74 are shown. The padding elements attach to the frame directly or indirectly via snaps, VELCRO (R), or straps, and generally may be removed for cleaning or replacement.

FIG. 8 details a cross-section of an exemplary helmet of the invention, the inventive helmet having a plurality of layers, including scale layer, elastomeric layer, shell layer, and padding layer surrounding a headspace 80. From exterior to interior, the layers may include a scale layer, an elastomer layer joining the scale layer to the shell layer, a shell layer, and an internal padding layer, optionally with added layers. Layer-by-layer construction is demonstrated, each layer having elements sized from macro- to micro- so as to maximize cooperative interactions, acting essentially at a micro-scale having heterogeneous interacting structural motifs. For example, cale element size is dimensioned according to lattice rib member size; padding element size is dimensioned so as to act cooperatively with the latticework shell, and so forth. The dimensions of the ribs are configured to support individual scales mounted in arrays or rows so as to overlap the slots or holes between the ribs. In this way a porous, lightweight, but impact-diffusive and uninterrupted surface is realized. Scales are not shown individually here but attach to the underlying shell. The shell is generally a layer formed by injection molding and having an overall shape sufficient to be worn on and protect the skull in a headspace 80, while permitting vision and hearing.

Inside the shell is a layer of padding elements; each padding element may be attaching to a breathable segmented coversheet that is relatively supple and seats itself in contact with the head of the wearer. The padding elements themselves are not shown here, but may be of multiple sizes and multiple shapes or materials so as to absorb energy using the multi-layered approach pioneered here. Some padding elements may be large and readily visible, other padding cells may be microscopic and concealed, and these may be combined to produce a padding layer that is both cushioning, resilient, and provides ventilation. The underlayer of the padding elements or coversheet may be segmented, textured and/or porous to permit convective cooling. Gaps between or clearances under the padding elements is provided to promote cooling. The spaces between the elements serve to accommodate partial collapse of the padding when absorbing an impact as will be described below. Padding elements may be incorporated in sections so as to improve fit and ease of assembly.

The flex of the helmet scale layer and shell layer is aided in absorbing kinetic energy by a cooperative compression of the padding cells. Individual padding elements may be filled with a filler that is a pliant or a resilient material, or a combination thereof. The filler may be an open-cell foam or a closed-cell foam for example. Alternatively, the padding elements are fluidly interconnected cells and are filled with a gas or liquid. Impact load is distributed by a network of pneumatic or hydraulic channels or orifices dimensioned to deflate and reflate by redistribution of the gas or liquid from a cell under load to surrounding cells. As needed, the cells are separated by vented spaces having each a volume configured to receive flexural distortion of the cell walls or partitions under load, for example in which the cell members taper from the shell-side to the headspace-side.

In other instances one or more cells may be pneumatically driven by an apparatus that triggers release of a gas into the cells in response to an impact as detected by a sensor. The gas may distribute itself into one or more compartments after impact so as to reduce the acceleration of the impact, and may then slowly vent. Miniaturization of air bag technology has progressed to the point that use in helmets is practical without significantly enlarging the helmet and sensor response using a nanosecond clock and microcontroller is readily fast enough to inflate the bag or bags before the skull is impacted.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are exemplary exterior “scales” of the invention. Two scale types are shown (90 a, 90 b) as isolated structural components. These are generally about coin-sized plates having a level of flexibility and resilience effective in joining the ribs into an “exoskeleton” suitable for cooperatively distributing impact loads. As described in more detail below, the scale layer is attached as an exterior layer on the shell layer described earlier. When the shell is fully covered with scales, no slots or gaps remain, however, the slots between the rib members of the shell serve essentially as expansion joints to accommodate flexure of the helmet during impact and to maximize passive absorption of the kinetic energy of impact. Scales flex with the ribs, and vice versa, dispersing impact forces laterally from the impact point.

The plates may be attached individually to the underlying shell or may be embedded in an elastomeric layer such as a silicone gel and applied according to an area of the helmet to be covered.

The scales may be opaque, transparent, or colored; the material may be pliant, resilient, compressible, or stiff.

The scales may be sized to achieve the greatest absorption of impact energy. The scales act to guide the flexing of the ribs and any underlying padding layers, the whole acting cooperatively to absorb impacts. Other scale shapes may also be used, such as circular, ovoid, tear-shaped, and irregular shapes. Scales may be formed having an outline of a circle or an ovoid, or shaped as a feather, adding some individuality or team identity to the helmet.

FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C are drawings of an exemplary scale-on-shell construction. In a first view, scales represented by scale element 91 a are attached to a rib member 92. Scales 91 b and 91 c are in process of assembly. A rivet or pin (not shown) may be used to affix the scales to the rib. Scales are fitted to the shell so as to entirely cover the helmet, from crown to collar, covering any slots or holes and completing the exoskeleton.

In FIG. 10B, the rib member 93 includes preformed pins 94 and the scales 95 are configured to be snapped onto the pins. Each scale may be individually mounted for easy replacement in the event of damage. Scales are mounted on a molded shell latticework, the shell having transverse ribs 93 capable of independent flexure with the scales.

In FIG. 10C, the rib member 96 is formed with slots 97 for receiving a pin pre-formed on the scale 98. Thus a variety of fastening systems can be used to attach scales to the rib members of the shell.

FIG. 11A is a frontal view of a “dragonscale” football helmet 100 showing an exterior scale layer formed by “scale-on-shell” construction that conceals the latticework and ribs. Shown are overlapping scales 90 a fitted to the helmet on a protective framework reinforced where needed to resist occipital and temporal impacts, and to support attachment of a faceguard. The helmet also may be configured for other sports such as hockey, kendo, baseball, soccer (where “heading” shots are common), Lacrosse, rugby, equestrian sports, and contact sports in general, and including applications for “special needs” activities.

The helmet is formed so when a person is impacted in the head, the scales, structural members of the shell, and padding layers will absorb the force of the impact and disperse it laterally through the helmet thickness, rather than concentrating the force on a single weak spot or transmitting it to the skull. Essentially the helmet is configured to flex at several dimensional scales, including macro- and micro-scales, as the result of a multi-layered construction and by use of interdigitated elements on multiple levels. The flexure and/or deformation of the scales results in dissipation of the energy of the impact, converting energy to work done on the helmet structures—rather than work done on the brain of the person wearing the helmet.

In FIG. 11B, a similar helmet 101 is covered with larger scales 101 a that are flush-fitted in a bowl-like hexagonal or “honeycomb” pattern. Scales may be tensile elements capable of limiting or reducing stretch of the exterior layer. By combining tensile elements with the underlying compressive ribs and buttresses of the shell, a living structure is obtained that has tensegrity, the capacity to redistribute loads across serially mounted tensile and compressive motifs. This may be increased by combining a resilient and elastic scale element with an outer layer that is thin, slick, but strongly resists stretching so that again, but at a fractal scale, individual elements are ordered by impact loads into larger structural arrays undergoing combined tensile and compressive load redistribution laterally across the surface and around in the thickness of the helmet body while limiting impact load residual vector against the braincase. In this instance the combination of structural elements organized as interactive layers exhibits a new tensile modulus and bending modulus that favors redistribution of loads laterally through micro-bending of heterogeneous structural motifs rather than in line with the impact force, and thus represents an advance in the art.

FIG. 12 is a side view of a helmet illustrating an exemplary “scale-on-shell” construction in which scales are applied to the ribs in an array that conforms to the shape of the shell. Shown here are selected patches or panels of hexagonal scale elements that are placed so as to completely cover the exposed shell buttresses and reticulations. The scale array is trimmed off or formed to conform to the edges of the helmet so as to form a smooth exterior surface. The smooth surface is useful to allow the helmet to slide across and over any obstruction without catching. An exterior slick plastic film may also be applied over the layers so that the surface has reduced friction.

Individual scales may be modified to accept fittings for attaching a faceguard and straps. In some instances the scales overlap so as to promote transfer of energy from one scale to the next (FIG. 21C). In other instances, as shown here, the scales are flush fitted or are separated by narrow gaps that promote, in concert with the ribs, ventilation of the headspace through many holes. Breathable plastics may also be used, including scales formed as porous reticulated plates. The scale elements may be applied individually as shown in FIG. 10A. In other instances the scales will be formed in situ.

Advantageously, ventilation of the helmet body is improved by segmentation of the layers and by provision for exchange of air through the lattice framework of the shell, unlike conventional helmets used in professional sports. The inventive helmets find use in football, as batting caps, in hockey, rugby, Lacrosse, soccer, hockey, karate, and any sport where mental dysfunction resulting from acute or cumulative head trauma is experienced.

In one embodiment, the scales may be formed after the desired material is positioned over the shell. Individual seams are opened up to allow the shell layer to flex with an engineered level of suppleness and resilience that is determined by the size of the elements, the thickness, and the materials themselves. Various scale shapes, such as fish scales, coins, feathers, or diamonds, may be used. In some instances the scales will interlock or be shaped to fit flush with the surrounding exterior surface. In some instances the scales include an outside film having a higher tensile strength than the scale body. The outside film may be selected to afford a slick, slippery and even water repellent surface to the outside of the helmet, while the helmet structural framework still provides breathability between the ribs and scale elements and through the padding, an improvement over conventional art.

In embodiments having detachable scales, the helmet may need repair after a strong impact, but the improved safety more than warrants the maintenance or replacement of a helmet. And synergy is also achieved when two helmets of opposing players, each having one of the multi-layered energy dissipation systems of the invention, are impacted against each other, each yielding with progressive reduction of impact force.

FIG. 13 is an underside view of a helmet with a padding layer. For comparison, a helmet without the padding layer is shown in FIG. 7A, where are shown are the latticework members of the bare shell to which a patterned array of dome-like padding elements 131 are applied as in FIG. 13. Each dome is in this case a sealed cell filled with a fluid such as air, and is compressible by virtue of elastic walls that flatten and stretch under impact load and recover when the load is relieved. Cells containing foam material may also be used.

FIG. 14A is a detail view of representative dome-like padding elements in array 140. Care is taken to show elements (130,131) of two different vertical dimensions, resulting in a fractally ordered pressure response. The dome-like cells are formed as part of a sheet 133 with inside face 133 a. Each cell has a wall 132 formed by sandwiching the dome cavities between two plastic films and fusing the films. The sheet is fitted to the inside of the shell piecewise so as to fully cover the shell.

FIGS. 14B and 14C represent schematically an unstressed padding layer and a padding layer subjected to a vertical/horizontal impact (bold arrows). The padding layer is a sheet having an inside face 133 a and an outside face 133 b. Each sheet contains two different sized cells in arrays 134 and 135, the cells having each a characteristic vertical dimension (134 a, 135 a). The scalp 139 of the helmet wearer is shown in direct, closely fitting contact with the padding elements. By using different sized cells, impacts can be progressively dispersed by a first-contacting cell array 134 with the larger cell array, and then by contacting the smaller cell array 135, improving ventilation and achieving a layered response to force, an advance in the art.

These heterogeneous arrays of padding elements are also examples of structural intralayer motifs that confer anisotropic properties on the helmet body taken as a whole. Bending moduli are no longer simple curves with linearity over a limited range of stresses followed by a yield point, but instead are complex curves having one or more inflexion points in the stress-strain curve.

FIG. 15A is a detail view of a representative cuboidal padding element array 150. Care is taken to show elements (151,152) of two different vertical dimensions. The cuboid cells are formed as part of a sheet 153 with inside face 153 a. Each cell has a wall 156 formed by sandwiching the cavities between two plastic films and fusing the films. The sheet is fitted to the inside of the shell piecewise so as to fully cover the shell. FIGS. 15B and 15C represent schematically an unstressed padding layer and a padding layer subjected to a vertical/horizontal impact (bold arrows) in which the padding layer is stressed under load and with horizontal shear. The padding layer is a sheet having an inside face 153 a and an outside face 153 b. Each sheet contains two different sized cells in overlapping arrays 154 and 155, the cells having each a characteristic vertical dimension (154 a, 155 a). The scalp 139 of the helmet wearer is shown in direct, closely fitting contact with the padding elements. By using different sized cuboid cells, impacts can be progressively dispersed by a first-contacting cell array 154 with the larger cell array, and then by contacting the smaller cell array 155, resulting in a unique intralayer structural motif as a heterogeneous combination.

FIG. 16A is a detail view of representative “finger” padding element array 160 in which the fingers (161,162) are interdigitated between two opposing sheets (162,163). An air gap 165 separates the opposing sheets. Each sheet has a wall formed by sandwiching the finger cavities between two plastic films and fusing the films to form each sheet. The sheets 163,164 are fitted to the inside of the shell piecewise so as to fully cover the shell.

FIGS. 16B shows a duplex finger padding layer subjected to a vertical/horizontal impact (bold arrows) in which the fingers are stressed and compress under load. Each wall (166,167) reversibly deforms under load. Resilient recovery is illustrated in FIG. 16C, in which the two sheets relax and reconstitute the air gap 165. FIG. 16D illustrates lateral shear with reversible finger deformation.

In principle, a similar cushion is achieved using finger bristles of a somewhat supple but resilient material that collapses and yields to be efficacious in reducing the residual kinetic energy that reaches the skull. In some instances the finger bristles are elastic, in other instances the padding includes pliant, crushable members that absorb impact and do not recover immediately, with the expectation that a player must replace the helmet after it has absorbed a significant impact and one or more layers have crumpled or otherwise deformed.

FIG. 17A is a schematic of a variant of the dome-like padding elements in which an array 170 of larger and smaller elastic dome elements (171,172) are interconnected in a network through narrow cross-channels 173 formed in a sheet 174 so as to resist compression by absorbing work of transfer of a fluid from one cell to another with expansion or collapse of wall area 175, followed by re-equilibration when the load is removed. FIGS. 17B and 17C illustrate the transfer process schematically. Bubble 171 a collapses under pressure (bold arrow) and bubble 171 b becomes hyperdistended, or passes air (dashed arrow) to another chamber (not shown) via interconnect 175. Graduated loading is also achieved by providing multiple vertical heights (171 a,171 b) of the bubble members.

FIGS. 18A and 18B are views of variant padding layer construction, showing arrays of multiple elements with multiple vertical dimensions and in this case (FIG. 18B) may be textured with small bristles 188 having a finer fractal dimension for ventilation.

In FIG. 18A, dashed arrows indicate transfer of air under loading and re-equilibration during recovery from an impact. The bubble elements (181,182) are elastic and resilient and are interconnected at adjoining partitions 183 by a reinforced hole 184 having defined microfluidic flow admittance, so that elastic resistance to an impact load is graduated. The sheets 185 are assembled by a roll process and are assembled in the helmet piecewise or are run through a nipper that cuts off excess material around defined padding layer sections.

Micro-venting (two-headed arrows) between pneumatic compartments can be used to redirect impacts having a vector directed at the skull into a lateral pressure wave moving around the skull instead of against it, analogously to the waveform (dashed arrows) shown schematically in FIG. 21B. In both instances the forces are dispersed laterally rather than transmitted directly to the skull. The side venting action is shown schematically with a double headed arrow in FIG. 18A to indicate that there is a re-equilibration after an impact where the padding shapes recover and air flows back into the original compartments (181,182).

FIGS. 19A and 19B represent an alternate padding construction 190 formed of bristles or “finger bristles” of resilient material on the inside of the helmet shell 192. An exterior scale layer 191 is again shown. The view is as seen in cross-section. FIG. 19B demonstrates compression of the helmet under impact. The deformation can be elastic, returning to its original shape, or inelastic, where the impact results in a permanent deformation. Bristle or columnar elements flex and act to transfer load laterally inside the helmet thickness without impacting the skull. Bristle elements may be formed for example from Koroyd (Koroyd SARL Monaco MC), a tubular copolymer having tertiary structure as a sandwich material.

FIGS. 19A and 19B are renderings of a helmet before and after impact as seen in cross-section. In these figures, the underlying padding has a “bristle” structure, like a forest of finger bristles standing on a segmented, breathable inner layer in direct contact with the head of the helmet wearer. The layer of bristles mounted inside the helmet shell has multiple finger bristles of a resilient material, such that each finger is separated by vented spaces having a volume sufficient to receive flexural distortion of the fingers under load. Bristles generally have a relaxation times (i.e., memory) configured to optimize the conversion of impact kinetic energy into deformation of the bristles. By deforming, the bristle cushions the underlying brain from the impact. The deformation can be elastic, returning to its original shape, or inelastic, where the impact results in a permanent deformation and necessitates replacement of the helmet.

FIG. 19B is a schematic of the cooperative behavior of the scales, ribs and padding when impacted. Scale layer and shell layer flexion is cooperatively transmitted to neighboring scales (FIG. 21C), diffusing the impact and minimizing the displacement of the brain in the brainpan so as to reduce fluid disturbances and cell pathology. Padding cells are compressed and laterally press on adjoining cells to transmit the impact force laterally instead of into the brain.

FIG. 20A is a posterior view of an alternate shell latticework 200 having hexagonal reticulation (“branches”) and anastomoses (“interconnections”). The ribbon branches 201 of the latticework connect to a thicker frame-like buttress member 202 on either side of the helmet and at the base 203. Hexagonal holes 204 separate the reticulations. In this way, impact loads are distributed over the latticework (by cooperative bending) from the point of impact so as to cushion the blow.

The outline of the entire helmet 205 is divided by a skeleton of wishbone frame members having a general “X” shape where the intersection of the legs is at the crest 43 of the helmet. Reticulations join the legs of the X at each of four quadrants: posterior (shown here), frontal, right side and left side. The scale layer is omitted for clarity in this drawing of the hexagonal latticework and wishbone frame. With cooperative interactions mediated by the scale elements, loads are distributed to the thicker elements which form a generally less supple framework that takes load from the more elastic and supple branch members in the back, side, and front panels.

FIG. 20B is a sectional view (taken as shown in FIG. 20A) through the reticulations (201 a,201 b,201 c,201 d) and buttress members 202 of the latticework. The honeycomb openings 204 are evident between the latticework members. Also shown in this view is a “cap layer” 206 that seats between the buttress members and covers the branching ribs (201 a,201 b,201 c,201 d) and spaces 204 of the shell. The cap layer 206 is supple and cushioning, but resilient and is reinforced with internal scale elements 207 that bridge the openings between the ribs. Individual scale elements are represented here by a dashed line, each dash being a scale embedded in the cap layer. The cap layer with reinforcing scales has a tensile strength that operates to distribute loads laterally by ensuring cooperative action of the compression of branching ribs. The cap layer is typically ventilated with holes (208 a,208 b) or is of a porous, reticulated material such as an open-cell foam.

For clarity, FIG. 20C is an isolated view of the shell layer with buttress elements (202 a,202 b) and branches (201 a,201 b,201 c,201 d). The section is taken to show the open hexagonal web of the branched ribs. Application of scales onto the ribs may be accomplished by analogy to FIG. 12.

FIG. 20D is an isolated view of the cap layer 206. As stated above, this is only the posterior panel of the helmet and would be inserted into the shell layer between buttresses 202 a and 202 b. At least three other panels are used in the full subassembly. Representative individual scale elements (207 a,207 b,207 c) are represented by bold dashes and are embedded in the matrix of the cap layer 206. The cap layer matrix is contacted with the shell so that scale elements bridge between the rib members. Representative vent holes (208 a,208 b) are again shown.

FIGS. 21A and 21B are action views showing a “before” and “after” an impact, in which the deformation is exaggerated for clarity. The response of the helmet of FIG. 21A to an impact (bold arrow) is presented in FIG. 21B. Dimpling (asterisk) of the outer helmet cap layer 206 and scales 207 is communicated to the shell, which bends and flexes at the ribs (201,201 a,201 b). Independent flexural motion of the ribs is made cooperative by the linking of the scale elements to the ribs. In turn, the ribs compress padding layer against the skull, but the response is to balloon the padding cells so as to laterally compress the nearest neighbors, distributing the force laterally (bold dashed arrows).

Shown here is a sandwich 210 of padding cells between two pliant sheets (211,212). Also shown is the wearer's skull 139 for reference. A more complete view of an exemplary helmet with multiple layers is shown here, and complements FIGS. 3A and 3B where less specificity was provided.

Another view showing the ribs flexing with the scales is shown in FIG. 21C, and illustrates how a force applied to one scale or rib will be transferred to adjacent scales, mobilis in mobuli. In this view a structural motif is shown formed of rib members and scale members having a new bending modulus and tensile modulus relative to the materials taken separately. Advantageously, the combined heterogeneous material is more effective in distributing loads laterally over the structural framework of the helmet body than the rigid capsule characteristic of conventional art.

Achieved is a helmet for reducing concussive and cumulative sub-concussive injury, in which the helmet body is configured to fit around and protect the human braincase, the helmet body having three, four or five layers, each layer contributing to localized repeating interlayer structural motifs illustrated by example in FIG. 21C, each motif contributing to a helmet body having a bending modulus and tensile modulus configured to cooperatively and laterally distribute a vectored force of an impact that would otherwise be directed at the braincase.

FIGS. 22A and 22B offer an alternate construction of a helmet 220 in which the buttress elements 202 are exposed on the exterior and separate scale elements 207 are seated as front, side and back panels. Ideally, a cap layer is applied as a slick, continuous, resilient surface.

EXAMPLE I

A scale-on-shell helmet is constructed and fitted with internal padding. The scales consist of flexible but stiff sheets having a mini-size relative to the helmet shell. Sheets of carbon-fiber reinforced polycarbonate having a thickness of about 3/32nd inch were used by way of example. Individual scales were cut by a saw process and mounted individually in an ordered array. As a demonstration, the dragonscale helmet of FIG. 11A was tested by dropping the helmet from a controlled height onto a hard surface. When a conventional helmet is dropped, a large resounding “thwump” is elicited, but when the dragonscale helmet is dropped, only a rustling rattle is heard.

EXAMPLE II

The dragonscale helmet of FIG. 11A was place on a subject and was then hit laterally above the occipital lobe with a baseball bat. No discomfort or adverse affect was noted by the subject. Damage to the helmet was not apparent because carbon-reinforced plastic scales were used in the test.

EXAMPLE III

Finite element modelling is performed to optimize the tensile and bending moments of the structural motifs making up the helmet body and its resistance to vectored forces directed through the helmet.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

All of the U.S. Patents, U.S. Patent application publications, U.S. Patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications and non-patent publications referred to in this specification and related filings are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

SCOPE OF THE CLAIMS

The disclosure set forth herein of certain exemplary embodiments, including all text, drawings, annotations, and graphs, is sufficient to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention. Various alternatives, modifications and equivalents are possible, as will readily occur to those skilled in the art in practice of the invention. The inventions, examples, and embodiments described herein are not limited to particularly exemplified materials, methods, and/or structures and various changes may be made in the size, shape, type, number and arrangement of parts described herein. All embodiments, alternatives, modifications and equivalents may be combined to provide further embodiments of the present invention without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

In general, in the following claims, the terms used in the written description should not be construed to limit the claims to specific embodiments described herein for illustration, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments, both specific and generic, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited in haec verba by the disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A helmet for reducing concussive and cumulative sub-concussive injury, which comprises a helmet body configured to accommodate a human braincase, the helmet body having three, four or five layers, each layer contributing to a localized repeat of structural motifs formed of elements of more than one layer, each structural motif having a bending modulus and tensile modulus configured to cooperatively and laterally distribute a vectored force of an impact that would otherwise be directed at the braincase.
 2. A helmet for reducing concussive and cumulative sub-concussive injury, which comprises a helmet body configured to accommodate a human braincase, the helmet body having a plurality of layers including: i. an intermediate shell layer comprising a branched and interconnected framework of structural members defined by an array of slots or holes in said shell layer, wherein each said structural member is configured with an efficacious level of stiffness so as to flex cooperatively under progressive increases in the kinetic energy of an impact; ii. an exterior body layer of scale elements attached as an array to said framework, wherein each said scale element is configured with an efficacious level of size, tensile strength and stiffness so as to flex cooperatively under progressive increases in the kinetic energy of an impact; iii. an interior body layer of padding elements mounted inside said shell, said layer of padding elements having multiple elements of a supple and resilient material configured to absorb and laterally redirect kinetic energy of impact; and, wherein said plurality of layers is characterized as having a bending modulus and a tensile modulus distinct from the moduli of any individual material.
 3. The helmet of claim 2, wherein said shell layer comprises a unibody frame having a latticework of structural members formed with branches and interconnections, and further wherein each said branch is configured with a tensile strength and an efficacious level of stiffness so as to flex cooperatively under progressive increases in kinetic energy of impact.
 4. The helmet of claim 3, wherein said scale layer comprises an array of detachably attachable scales completely covering the exterior of said unibody frame, each said scale having a thickness, a shape, a flexural stiffness intermediate between rigid and bendable, and a tensile strength greater than said tensile strength of said branches and interconnections of said shell, and further wherein said scale layer is attached by a fastener to said shell layer.
 5. The helmet of claim 4, wherein said scale elements of said array are dragonscales, coin-like scales, ovoid scales, fish scales, snake scales, or feather scales.
 6. The helmet of claim 3, wherein said latticework of structural members is reinforced by a double wishbone substructure integrated into said shell layer, wherein said wishbone substructure is defined by a stiffness greater than said branches, and further wherein said branches are joined by interconnections to said wishbone substructure.
 7. The helmet of claim 4, further comprising an elastomeric compressible layer between said external layer of scale elements and said shell layer.
 8. The helmet of claim 2, wherein said interior layer of padding elements comprises multiple compartments, wherein each said compartment is separated from proximate compartments by a partition of a supple and resilient material configured to absorb and laterally redirect kinetic energy of impact.
 9. The helmet of claim 2, wherein said interior layer of padding elements comprises multiple compartments, and each said compartments are in pneumatic or hydraulic communication through one or more interconnects dimensioned to resist redistribution of said fluid from compartment to compartment under load.
 10. The helmet of claim 2, wherein said padding elements are supported on a segmented breathable sheet configured to conform to a human skull; and further wherein said padding elements are filled with an elastic or resilient material.
 11. The helmet of claim 10, wherein said elastic or resilient material is an open celled foam, a closed celled foam, or a fluid.
 12. The helmet of claim 8, wherein said padding elements are separated by vented spaces having each a volume configured to receive flexural distortion of said partitions under load, said spaces narrowing an air gap between said shell layer and said breathable sheet.
 13. An improved helmet having a plurality of helmet body layers, said layers comprising: a) a shell layer having transverse slots defining lateral ribs between wishbone frame members, wherein said ribs are configured to flex independently. b) a layer of scales attached as an array to said lateral ribs so as to form an impact absorption layer; and, c) a layer of bristles mounted inside said helmet shell layer, said layer of bristles having multiple finger bristles of a pliant or resilient material separated by vented spaces, each vented space having a volume configured to receive flexural distortion of said bristles under load.
 14. The helmet body of claim 13, further comprising an outside layer of a compliant material that is slick and resistant to tensile loads.
 15. The helmet body of claim 13, further comprising an intermediate layer of a compressible elastomeric material between said layer of scales and said shell layer.
 16. The helmet body of claim 13, wherein one or more layers comprise segmented or sectional elements.
 17. The helmet body of claim 16, wherein said stiffer structural members are exposed on said external surface.
 18. The helmet body of claim 13 having transparent windows in said layers configured around the temple of the wearer so as to increase peripheral vision while wearing said helmet. 